In too deep
by collierider12
Summary: Bellwether's gotten out of jail, but the ones who got her out may just put her back in.
1. The bars are open

It had been nearly 4 years since the predator hysteria had plagued Zootopia. The city had returned to normal, predators and prey had put the past behind them and returned to their daily lives. Yet, no one had truly forgotten the incident, even nowadays videos would pop-up talking about the topics, someone's personal opinion. Some conspiracy theory saying it the whole incident went deeper than it appeared. Or maybe it just talked about the lesson everyone had learned from the event.

Zootopia, either way, had moved passed the event and the one true reminder of the events lay in the Zootopia penitentiary. The lamb who had caused the entire mass panic, was sitting on her bed, not really minding her noisy roommate next door who was stirring up a ruckus from her pen. The sound of electricity and a yelp later and she calmed down. Bellwether was reading the newspaper she picked up from the book trolley that passed her room every day. She had practically read everything else on that trolley so these were the only new material she could find.

Zootopia didn't really have much to offer in "Shocking news". The mass hysteria was the biggest news story the press had in about 4 years, so most of the articles were just about new businesses or talking about some top-of-the-line product that was about to hit the shelves in the coming months.

Flipping the pages, bellwether didn't really find anything interesting until she reached the second page. Browsing the articles, one line of text caught her eye.

"Bunny and fox duo catch atm robber red-handed"

Bellwether let out a frustrated sigh. She knew exactly which "duo" the paper was talking about. About every other week she would find some story of them, stopping some kind of crime, or spreading some positive message.

Folding the paper, bellwether just set the paper to the side and lay back on her bed. Prison had not been very kind to her over the 4 years she had been there. If not because all the other inmates where much bigger than her, some of the inmates where predators. When the mass hysteria hit Zootopia, word spread fast, and it wasn't long before the entire prison was informed of the situation. When it was revealed who was behind the entire incident, a few of the predators had a very "enthusiastic" welcoming for bellwether when she arrived.

"A living hell" would be a generous way of describing her first day in the penitentiary. A scar on the side of her head was visible through the wool from when one of the inmates had tried to stab her with a carved toothbrush. A few other scars could also be found on her body, but bellwether shuddered at even thinking of how those got there. While she had been able to survive for 4 years, she had not survived unscathed. Even after 4 years a few inmates tried to take a swing at her and with no one willing to back her up, she knew it would only be a certain amount of time before there would be a fatal blow.

A buzzer suddenly filled the air, causing bellwether to jump. The doors flew open and the inmates were forced to step in the front of their cells.

"Shake down!" One of the guards shouted.

"Again?" One of the inmates complained.

"But we just had one yesterday!" Another added.

"Quiet, all of you!" The guard yelled. "You all know the drill, when a guard approaches you, hands against the wall. If any contraband is found in your room, you will take time in solitary."

The inmates groaned as they were forced, one by one, to have their rooms searched. About 10 minutes had passed before the guards approached bellwether; bellwether stepped into her room and placed her hands on the wall liked order. While the guard patted her down, a female wolf guard walked into her room and proceeded to search the rest of the room.

"Oh lamb chops." Bellwether thought. She knew what happened every time a predator searched her room. Bellwether was told to face the wall when she was caught looking at the wolf. Bellwether heard the wolf start searching until finally the wolf spoke up.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Bellwether gulped, looking behind her, the wolf was holding a switchblade between two of her fingers.

"That's not mine!" Bellwether protested.

"That's what they all say." The guard patting her down said. Bellwether was forced to put her hands behind her as she was cuffed. She caught the wolf with an all-too happy smirk smeared across her face as bellwether was escorted out of the room.

"Looks like bellwether's done it again!" A cheetah shouted when bellwether stepped out of her cell. Some of the other inmates shared a laugh as she was pushed down to solitary.

Bellwether was taken to a room that had no windows or other amenities, which was very cramped to top it off. She had grown very used to this room. Bellwether had lost track of how many times she had been sent to the same cell over the time she had been there. The inmates had even started making jokes about it, calling it the "Bell cell."

Bellwether took a seat on the farthest wall from the door and watched as she was enclosed in the small box. Letting out a sigh, bellwether tried to find out what she was going to do this time to entertain herself this time.

She knew she was probably going to spend about 6 hours in that cell, 12 at most. But to her surprise, it was about 4 hours later before a guard returned to her cell.

"Bellwether?" The guard asked.

Bellwether was surprised by the sudden appearance of the guard. "Has it been 6 hours already?"

"No." The guard replied. "But you're getting out early."

Bellwether wasn't sure how to react at first, this was the first time she had ever gotten out early from solitary. With her cuffs still wrapped around her arms, bellwether walked back down to the cells where she would be put back in her own cell.

But to her surprise, they walked past her cell. "Where are we going?" She asked, starting to feel nervous. The guard didn't reply.

Bellwether was escorted past the other cells were inmates were looking through the grates in the doors to watch bellwether as she was escorted to the front of the building. They reached the front door, and after a few seconds, a buzzer was heard and the light over the door turned green.

A female tiger was standing in the hallway that lay between the cells and the front office.

"Bellwether." She spoke as the lamb approached. "I honestly never expected that an animal like you would be shown mercy."

"What are you talking about?" Bellwether asked.

The tiger sighed before continuing. "It's your lucky day. Someone, somehow, managed to make a deal and get you out of prison early."

"Wha- but who?" Bellwether asked.

"Don't know." The tiger replied. "But apparently they must like you, since they went to a lot of effort to get you out as I've been told."

Bellwether was suddenly pushed forward, being moved to the front office as she followed behind the tiger.

"Guess this is a good thing for you." The tiger continued. "Really, it's more of a good thing for the rest of us, it's not like we really need criminals like you in our presence anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bellwether asked angrily.

"It means," The tiger began, turning to face bellwether. "That the rest of us won't have to deal with the 'problems' you've brought to this prison since you've arrived."

"What problems?" Bellwether responded.

"Do you honestly think the guards here have enjoyed having to protect you from the other inmates, do you think we've enjoyed every time you've had to call for help because some predator has tried to shank you. No, the only reason we haven't let the others do what they want, is because it's our job. If it was my way, I would let you die along with the "opinions" you harbor with you."

Bellwether didn't respond. Suddenly feeling a push again, she was once again being moved to the front office.

At the front desk, bellwether's cuffs were removed and she was moved out to the lot. The guards left her out there with the only standing between her and freedom was a giant gate. One last buzzer and the doors opened.

Leaning against a green mini-countryman was a dog of beagle descent.

He sported a green beret and was blue hoodie with black jeans. He was focused on his paws when he looked up and noticed the lone lamb standing behind the gates.

"Bellwether?" He asked.

Bellwether merely nodded.

The dog flashed a grin. "Well, if it's not the great bellwether that caused mass hysteria and nearly segregated the entire city of Zootopia."

"Who are you, what do you want?" Bellwether asked, a sinking feeling grasping her.

"Well, you're welcome!" The dog replied, the grin still on his face. "You know, for someone who took several contacts to break out, you sure aren't very grateful."

Bellwether started to step closer, once she was a few steps out of the front gate, the gate closed behind her. "You didn't answer my question. Who are you, why did you set me free?" Bellwether pressed again.

The dog chuckled. "Look, how about we take a drive and I'll explain everything to you." He offered, standing up from the car, and opening the passenger side of the car. "We have a lot to talk about anyway."

Bellwether was hesitant to take him up on his offer. "What if I don't want too?" She asked.

"Suit yourself, I'm sure the guards would love to take you back, who knows, maybe some of the inmates would love to see you again, I'm sure they are just dying to see you." The dog responded.

Bellwether placed a hand on the scar on the right side of her head. It was two options she didn't like.

Go with the dog she had never seen before, or stay here and go back.

Sighing, bellwether stated walking to the car. Jumping into the passenger seat the dog closed the door.

"There we go." The dog enthusiastically stated. Walking over to the driver side, the dog got in and started up the car. "Passenger seat darling, wouldn't want to mess up that wool at a stop light would we?"

Bellwether grunted and pulled the car buckle across her. The dog pressed the gas and pulled away from the prison. Looking in the mirror, Bellwether watched as the prison became smaller in the distance.

The only thing that separated Zootopia from the prison was a long highway stretching about 10 minutes apart from each other.

"Alright, I'm in the car, I did what you said. Now can you please tell me why you let me free from prison?" Bellwether begged.

"Again, you're welcome." The dog answered. "And the reason I set you free is because I need you."

"Need me for what?" She asked.

"Well, when I heard that the sheep-"

"Lamb." Bellwether corrected.

"To-may-to, to-ma-to." The dog waved his hand left and right. "Anyway, the point is, when I heard that you had been sent to prison, I couldn't just let such a brain go to waste. That amount of talent that can nearly separate an entire city is not to be wasted in a giant concrete box."

"With you, I can't tell if you mean figuratively or literally." Bellwether replied skeptically.

"I get that a lot when I give others compliments." He chuckled. "I'm not her to eat you, I want to recruit you."

Bellwether raised an eyebrow. "Recruit me for what?"

"Have you ever heard of the plague doctors?" The beagle asked.

"You mean the doctor from the 1800's who wore the strange mask and healed people through religious-"

"No." The dog interrupted. "I'm talking about the heisters." He explained.

Bellwether thought it over for a second, the name actually did ring a bell. "You mean the group who wore plague mask and robbed multiple banks?" She questioned.

"The very same." He replied.

"They've been gone for years, what do they have to do with anything?" Bellwether asked.

The dog cracked a smile. "Well, maybe one of the heist member's informants tried to rat them out, and for the past 8 years they've been looking for someone who could take their place."

Bellwether felt a shudder go down her spine. "Why me, what makes you think I could take their place?" Bellwether nervously questioned.

"Well, seeing as how you managed to separate an entire city, I figured helping to rob a bank would be a step down for you." He explained. "Or is Bellwether really just a fraud in lambs clothing."

Bellwether was taken aback by the sudden insult. "I'll have you know that it took me years to plan out how to take down Zootopia, I won't sit here and allow you to talk to me like it was a simple job."

"Great." The beagle replied. "Then gathering information needed for us to rob a bank should be easy for you then."

For a moment, Bellwether sat in silence. Her first day out of prison, and she's being recruited into a heist group that had disbanded 8 years ago. "You never told me your name." Bellwether remembered

"Aiden." The beagle answered. "I know this may seem a little "Much" For you right now, what with being suddenly recruited into a group that disappeared years ago, but we won't be starting immediately."

"Why not?" Bellwether asked.

"Well, I'm one of those people, you know, let you get a breather, get back to a normal life before we get you into the dirty work." He explained. "You can stay at my place for a few days, and then we can meet the others. We'll go home; you can take a shower, get out of those clothes and into something a little more casual, and get something to eat."

"I'm not sure I entirely agree with this plan." Bellwether responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you have some other place you can live at right now? Do you have the money to afford a place if you don't? Do you want to take the chance on the street where everyone can see you?" Aiden questioned.

Bellwether didn't respond.

Aiden smirked. "Well, since the moment is gone, what's say we listen to some music?" He asked, grabbing the phone from his pocket. Flipping through some of the songs he eventually picked a classic rock song from the 80's. "Bluetooth." He explained as it played out the radio. "Gotta' love it."

Bellwether rolled her eyes and looked out the window. The sun was setting over the ocean and everything had an orange tint to it.

"Don't be so moody." Aiden enthusiastically nudged her with his paw. "Sure, you may be out of the frying pan and into the fryer, but at least someone's going to the fryer with you."

Bellwether sighed; she wasn't sure how to categorize this day. Was it the worst, or was it the best? It really depended on what her future with this nut job looked right. It was far too late to turn around either way. Guess it was all just up to the hands of fate now.

 _To be continued…._


	2. It starts with a new look

Bellwether's eyes opened up. Her surroundings were unfamiliar to her. She still wore the orange jumpsuit she had when she was in prison, but everything else was different. Her bed actually had a mattress; a window to her left showed the city of Zootopia shining bright from the sunlight through the curtains. Bellwether rubbed her eyes and took a moment to recollect herself.

She remembered laying her head down inside the car for a moment and closing her eyes for about a second. That was shortly after she had finished talking to the beagle that got her out of jail. She must have passed out shortly afterward and he must have carried her in. but the question was, where _was_ she?

Bellwether opened the window and decided to peek outside, she was pretty high up from the ground. The building must have been a skyscraper. At the very least, Bellwether got a good look at the city. It looked almost the same since when she had left. It almost looked like the events of the past had never happened to begin with.

Across the street, a gazelle billboard was posted above a building, promoting some clothing line Bellwether had never heard of. Animals, prey and predator, looked like ants below her, just walking by resuming their usual day-to-day lives. It was exactly the same as it was before she had created the serum that separated them.

Bellwether shook her head, trying to disperse the thought of the serum that caused her to be put in this mess in the first place. Closing the window, Bellwether headed for the door, it was time to figure out where she was.

Bellwether stepped into a room that was covered in hard-wood floor, which differed from the carpet in the room she had been sleeping in. the entire front of the room's wall was glass, giving an even bigger look out onto Zootopia. A large sofa, enough to seat probably 6 people, was propped in front of a TV. A marble table was the only thing that separated the TV and sofa.

"Morning, sunshine." A voice welcomed.

Bellwether turned around. From around a wooden counter, Bellwether spotted the beagle that had got her out of prison.

"Where am I?" Bellwether asked.

"In my apartment." Aiden responded. "You passed out from the ride back, so I figured I would escort you to the guest room via carrying. We're just lucky no one spotted you from the elevator." Aiden took a sip of coffee he had just recently poured from his coffee machine. "By the way, there's a hay burger in the fridge, I went to get food last night but I didn't know you were passed out until I was already ordering so I just placed an order for you. Sheep eat hay right?"

Bellwether grunted and moved to the fridge. In a white Styrofoam box marked "Boyd's beastly burgers." Bellwether found the sandwich Aiden was talking about. Taking a seat at a nearby table, Bellwether grabbed the burger and took a bite. Aiden took the seat across from her.

"You know, Belgian coffee is actually more expensive because it takes longer to grow." He began. "Really though it's worth it, it's a lot stronger, and has a more powerful kick to it. Frankly, I'm not sure if I could ever go back to regular coffee after tasting this stuff. It's almost like an addiction." He chuckled.

Bellwether just shot him a glare and continued eating her sandwich.

"Still not over the whole, Getting-out-of-prison-and-immediately-joining-a-crime-syndicate thing yet, huh?" Aiden asked.

"Why should I?" Bellwether growled. "Especially when a predator like you, forces me to join it without any other options."

"Technically I'm an omnivore." Aiden replied. "And I never said you didn't have any other options, I just merely told you what would happen if you _didn't_ join us."

"Does it really matter?" Bellwether shouted, slamming her hooves down on the table. "Any of the other options you gave me are pretty much suicide either way!"

"No need to shout, I was just merely stating the facts." Aiden took another sip of his coffee. "Oh, I get why you're angry. It's because I assumed that all sheep eat hay isn't it?"

Bellwether just let out a sigh and sat back down. "It seems like anywhere I go now, something bad always follows me." She stated, with distraught filling every word.

"Hey, look at it this way, of all the things that could have happened, this is one of the better things." Aiden persuaded.

Bellwether adjusted her glasses. "Since I guess you've been here since I've been away, how has Zootopia changed since I've been gone?" She asked.

"In a way, it's still the same, but everything is different." Aiden replied.

"What do you mean?" Bellwether asked.

"Shortly after you were put in jail, the cure for the serum was dispatched and predators were put back in society like nothing had ever happened." Aiden explained. "That's how it was… at first. Shortly afterwards, new laws were put in place. Stores couldn't refuse service to anyone without proper reason. Hate crimes have dropped, but that's because of the massive hysteria you caused. News channels were forced to no longer talk of the subject of the hysteria, no articles could be reported after it had happened. Pretty much all media was banned from talking about the matter."

"Why?" Bellwether asked.

"Why do you think?" Aiden responded. "They didn't want Zootopia to fall into the same hysteria from someone who got the same idea as you. They wanted the morale to be learned, but no the event to be remembered. Shortly after you were sent, a few news stations were reported destroying archives of the incident. News reports, newspaper articles, even sources were being destroyed as to not give a future mind an idea."

Bellwether could hardly grasp what she was hearing. The impact had been so traumatic that they had to erase it from existence. "However," Aiden continued. "Whereas the media controlled by higher-ups was forced to erase all details, the internet hasn't been so quick to erase the incident from history."

"How so?" Bellwether asked cautiously.

"Species of all types talked about it from the day it began to even today." Aiden looked up from his glass, his face lost his smirk and his eyes grew a very serious tone. "People believed that the project went deeper than just you and a serum, some were skeptical that the government had been involved. Some were just talking about the morale and the traumatic experiences they saw and how it affected them after they saw it. Nowadays you're bound to find at least one new video talking about the incident, even four years later."

"So Zootopia still harbors a grudge?" Bellwether questioned.

Aiden let out a light laugh. The smirk returned to his face, and his eyes focused back on his drink. "'Grudge' is the nice way to put it." Aiden joked. "I would really call it 'unbridled rage seeping in the back of everyone's mind'."

A knock on the door caught both of their attention. "Oh, yes! That reminds me; I invited a friend over for a favor." Aiden explained as he rose from his chair.

"What friend?" Bellwether asked as she watched Aiden walk to the door.

Aiden didn't respond but rather just walked straight to the door, grabbing the doorknob, he pulled the door open.

"Ay, Christy!" He cheered as a doe stood in the doorway with a large brown leather satchel hung over her shoulder.

"Aiden." She spoke up in a lukewarm tone. "Been a while hasn't it?"

"Eight years." He recalled. "And yet you still look like the same doe I remember."

"I could say the same thing." She responded as she walked past him. "So has the new overseer come in yet?"

"Yeah, she's at the table, eating right now." Aiden replied.

Christy looked to her right and noticed a lamb in an orange jumpsuit sitting at the table. The very first thing Bellwether noticed was the two stumps over Christy's heads.

"I thought doe's were never supposed to have antlers." Bellwether observed.

"Attention to detail, I like it." Christy commented, looking at Aiden. "I was born with a small defect." She remarked. "I was born with antlers, like any deer, but I was born female. I had to saw them off when I joined the plague doctors because my antlers couldn't fit in the mask."

"I prefer it that way, really." Aiden added. "At least you didn't have to deal with short doorways anymore."

"Ha, Ha, Aiden." She stated sarcastically. "At least I could keep my ears out of my tomato soup." Aiden let out a laugh, clearly not affected by her insult. "Anyway, so you're dawn."

"Bellwether." Dawn replied. "I prefer my last name to my first."

Christy shrugged. "Have it your way. It won't really matter soon anyway since you're going to be a completely different lamb by the time I'm done with you."

"What?" Bellwether asked in shock.

"Yeah, I also forgot to mention, we may need to make a few changes to you before we can truly let you begin working with us."

"Why?" Bellwether urged.

"Well, it's not like I can keep you locked in here forever, someone's bound to see you, and we can't really take the risk of you getting caught and being tracked down by the entire public." Aiden revealed.

"Besides, I'm not going to do too much; I just need to fix a few hair features, and such. Nothing to drastic." Christy explained, laying the satchel on the table. "And frankly, the sooner we can get this done; the sooner we can all move on to the next part of getting the old group back together."

"We?" Bellwether questioned.

"Well, me and Christy." Aiden explained. "You still have a few days off, which is why we're getting you a new look. While me and Christy run off and collect the others, you can get used to Zootopia once more."

"But what if someone finds out who I am through my disguise?" Bellwether nervously asked.

"Odds are, that's unlikely. A lot of people remember you from what you look like, not so much what you sound like." Aiden replied.

Christy pulled out some shearing scissors from her satchel. "If you're done worrying about the future, I'd like to get started before the scissors rust from age."

Christy managed to make short work of Bellwether's wool. Each time the scissors closed making snip sound, Bellwether flinched. After a few moments, Christy had finished. Christy grabbed a mirror and allowed bellwether to see what she had changed. The wool on the side of her head had been more rounded out, so her face seemed skinnier, and the large tuft that covered her head was gone now.

"It's… different." Bellwether commented.

"You'll get used to it." Christy assured. "Speaking of which, we also need to get rid of these." Christy added, grabbing Bellwether's glasses.

"Hey, I need those!" bellwether fussed, trying to grab them back.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to just let you walk around blind." Christy replied. "We're replacing your eyes with contacts."

"Why contacts?" Bellwether questioned. "Wouldn't it be easier to just give me another pair of glasses?"

"In any other case, yes, but this is a bit different." Christy explained, tucking away the mirror and grabbing a small blue case from the bag. "These contacts change the colors of your eyes, with this; you're practically an entire new lamb."

Bellwether decided that since she had gone this far into the transformation process, there wasn't really a reason to reject the contacts. It took her a few tries to get the contacts in her eyes, but once she did, she found that her eyesight was just as good as when she was wearing glasses.

Grabbing the mirror again, Christy showed Bellwether the new colors of her eyes. They had turned from green to blue, she hardly recognized even herself with the new hair and eye color.

"So, does this mean I'm able to walk around Zootopia again?" Bellwether asked.

"I don't see why not." Aiden commented. "Seeing as how you don't look like bellwether anymore, you're safe to walk the streets once more."

Bellwether took a moment to take in those words. The danger of her being found out was more than real, and it endangered her life if citizens found out she was walking among them once more.

"But before you do," Christy spoke up. "It's better you switch out of that jumpsuit and into something a little more, well, civilian." Christy pulled some clothes out of the satchel and handed them to Bellwether.

"I didn't know what your size was, so I just took an estimated guess, so sorry if they're a little loose or too tight." Christy explained.

"Thanks." Bellwether grabbed the clothes and started heading to the guest room to change.

"Oh, also, by the time you come out, me and Christy will probably be out trying to find the other two, so before we leave, I also pitched in and got you something." Aiden added. Aiden reached into his side pocket and grabbed a small stack of cash and tossed it to bellwether.

Bellwether observed the stack for a moment. "This is about five dollars!" She exclaimed.

"More like six hundred." Aiden corrected. "But this should be enough for you to have some fun around town, you know, get used to some of Zootopia's activities again while we're out."

Bellwether was shocked that Aiden was able to just throw such a large amount of money without any hint of regret.

"Really, only six hundred?" Christy spoke up. "I would have at least given her eight hundred."

"Oh please, we both know you're such a penny pincher, you wouldn't have dared to give her fifty." Aiden responded.

"How much do you two have?" Bellwether asked.

"Enough to cover us at least two lifetimes." Christy replied. "Three, if you dispense it correctly."

"We didn't heist just to have showdowns with the cops for free." Aiden commented. "We needed some kind of income for our troubles."

"Look, Aiden, we really need to get going, if we want to keep everything on track, we need to find the others before the end of today." Christy urged.

"Alright, alright." Aiden responded. "I'll see you later tonight Bellwether; just make sure you take the spare set of keys I left for you on the counter before you leave. We should be back by nine, I think."

Aiden said one final goodbye as he and Christy left the apartment, leaving only Bellwether by herself. Bellwether grabbed the clothes and the money and went back into the guest room. She threw the money onto the bed and changed out of her jumpsuit into the clothes Christy had supplied for her.

She had been given a dark-green long-sleeved sweater and blue jeans for her to wear. They were a little loose, but she could manage them for a day. Bellwether took only a few bills from the stack she was given and put them in her pocket.

Leaving the guest room, she grabbed the keys Aiden had left on the counter. Being the first time she had truly stepped foot in Zootopia in years, she had a moment of hesitation as she reached for the doorknob. A million thought raced through her head, some were of bad outcomes; a few were of good outcomes. Was it really worth the risk to just, walk around outside in the middle of the day?

Bellwether shook her head. If she wanted a new start, she would have to start from scratch. And no knew beginning started from staying in an apartment room.

Bellwether grabbed the knob and turned it, opening the door. And whether she liked it or not, it was far too late to turn back anyway.

 _to be continued…_


	3. changes, similarities, and a red pen

Bellwether stepped out of the elevator into the lobby. A lot of animals of different species and sizes were lounging around, talking, laughing, and debating politics. Bellwether moved past them all in a rush. Once she reached the door she once again stepped foot onto Zootopia. The first time in four years.

Bellwether let out a breath of air. She wasn't sure if it was because she was nervous about being caught, or if it was because she had been holding it in while she was walking through the lobby. Deciding to go left, Bellwether decided to visit the markets district of downtown, since it would be less crowded at this time of day.

The air smelled like it had just rained and the sun was bright over the sky, for Zootopia, it was beautiful weather. Keeping to herself, Bellwether tried her best to not walk too closely to anyone else on the sidewalk. It was refreshing for Bellwether to finally have her legs move around more, since the only amount of room Bellwether had gotten was the outside courtyard back in prison.

Bellwether passed a variety of stores down by the market place, mostly the same, but a few new ones Bellwether had never heard of before seemed to have cropped up. Bellwether decided to stop by one of the local farmers markets for a quick snack. A goat was posted as the front cashier, and he seemed to be rather zoned out, almost not noticing Bellwether presence.

Bellwether decided to browse the vegetables aisle and see if she could find anything worth buying. As Bellwether browsed, her mind began to wonder about her situation. Having been brought into a new life by two different people, as far as she was aware of, only to be used for something devious once again was not a particularly good situation in Bellwether's case.

"Maybe I can make a run for it." She thought. "There's plenty of world out there for me to hide in, I just have to keep my identity hidden. But what if one of Aiden has a contact who can easily find me… What would he do if he did find me?"

Bellwether bumped into something large. When she looked up, she noticed a male polar bear.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn't see you there." She apologized.

"No problem." The bear responded.

For a moment, Bellwether was going to continue, but then something bugged her. "Aren't you a carnivore?" She asked.

"For the most part." The polar bear shrugged.

"What are you doing in the vegetable isle, then?" She questioned.

"Well, just because I eat meat doesn't mean I can't have variety." The bear replied, grabbing a turnip. "Sure, I can stick to meats, but where's the fun in that?"

The bear walked off, leaving Bellwether slightly confused. She shook her head and just decided to not pursue the topic any further. Grabbing a carrot, she headed for the cashier.

"Excuse me?" She called out, trying to grab the goat's attention. "E-excuse me, sir?" She tried once more, this time waving her hoof. "Sir!" She yelled.

The goat snapped its head up as if surprised. Looking over the counter, the goat finally noticed Bellwether. "Oh, sorry ma'am." He apologized. "It's been kind of slow today, so I've kind of gotten to use to being in my own head."

Bellwether paid for the carrot before continuing her walk around town. Taking a bite out of the carrot, she wondered back to her predicament. "Aiden said they were going to go find the others." She thought. "How many more were there in the heist group? Would they all accept me so easily, what reason do they even have to trust me? What's going to happen if they don't?"

Taking another bite out of her carrot, Bellwether made a left turn. "Even if I ran away now, I don't have any real documents, which would make getting a job rather difficult. Would I even be able to get a job? I'm pretty sure I would attract too much attention if I did."

Bellwether crossed the street as she continued pondering. "But it's not like the money Aiden gave me would even last me that long, I'm sure getting a train ride out of here would hog up most of the cash. And I'm not sure how long I would be able to last hiking down the road."

Bellwether walked across the middle of the city square. "If only I had help, I could get myself out of this situation."

Bellwether's foot caught on something and she quickly caught herself from failing. She realized she had accidentally walked in front of stairs. Looking up, Bellwether felt shock run through her body.

Zootopia police department

These were the words labeling the building that sat on top of the stairs. For a moment, Bellwether just stood there. Her fingers kept rubbing against each other; sweat was starting to run down her forehead.

Bellwether saw another option, but this option suffered heavy consequences. What was she supposed to say when she went in? "Hey Judy, it's me Bellwether, you know, the lamb that tried to kill you four years ago."

Even if she ratted on Aiden, what would it accomplish? Odds are, the same contacts that got her out, would help get Aiden out as well. Who would even believe her that this beagle who no one had probably ever heard of before, was one of the heisters from the plague doctors?

Shaking her head, she decided to not take the risk. She turned around and bumped into someone. Regaining her balance, Bellwether started apologizing. But the words got caught in her mouth. "Nick?" She asked.

A fox was dusting himself off when he heard his name called. "Well, that's one way to meet a fan I guess." He chuckled. "Sorry about the rough meet-up there, you looked a little lost, so I was coming to see if you needed help." Nick extended his arm. "Nick Wilde, first fox of the ZPD. You probably already knew this, seeing as how you know my name and all; may I ask what yours is?"

Bellwether quickly scrambled her head for a list of names. "Petunia." She replied, grabbing Nick's hand.

"Petunia…" Nick pondered. "Let me guess, you're parents named you after your mothers favorite flower."

"Yeah." Bellwether chuckled nervously, going along with Nick's assumption. "Hey, how's Judy doing?" She asked.

"Who, Carrots? She doing fine, Zootopia's been pretty calm since the fiasco a few years back." Nick responded. "We haven't really done much since then, but we still find the occasional crime from time to time. Speaking of carrots, here she comes now."

Bellwether froze up, turning around she noticed a familiar grey bunny walking down the stairs. "Well Nick, for the fourth week in a row, it looks like we just have patrol duty."

"Ah c'mon carrots, who needs variety anyway." Nick joked.

"Says the fox who always wants us to try a new place to eat for lunch." Judy replied, smirking. "Oh, who's this?" Judy asked, noting Bellwether's presence.

"Petunia." Nick replied. "I found her standing here, fan of our work it seems."

"Well then I guess I don't really need to introduce myself." Judy replied, extending an arm out to Bellwether. "Nice to meet you."

Bellwether nervously shook Judy's hand, praying Judy didn't figure out who she was. "So what was a sheep like you doing around here anyway?" Judy asked.

Bellwether was trying to find an excuse, when suddenly an opportunity showed up in her head. "Well, you see, I work for the newspaper, and seeing how we're running low on things to report, I was decided to do an article on the plague doctors."

"Wait, you don't mean THE plague doctors do you?" Nick asked.

"Who are the Plague doctors?" Judy asked.

"Oh, only the most notorious heist group Zootopia had ever seen. For years these guys managed to break into banks and steal millions without ever being caught. For hours they would have standoffs with the cops, but when the cops finally got into the building to arrest them, they were gone."

"You seem to know a lot about these guys, Nick." Judy smirked.

"You know me Carrots; I have a thing about talent." Nick replied.

"Do you know why they stopped?" Bellwether asked.

"No one really knows." Nick asked. "Someone could have bailed from the group, they might have left the city, a really popular one is that they probably assumed new identity's and live In Zootopia."

"Well Nick, since you're so interested in these guys, I'm sure you would love to tell me more on patrol duty." Judy reminded.

"Alright, alright." Nick replied. "Hey, petunia, if you're wondering more about these guys I'm sure you can probably find more about them in the police station archives, tell em' nick sent ya and they should let you in."

"Thanks." Bellwether responded. "It was a pleasure meeting you two."

"Same here." Judy replied. "By the way Nick, I'm picking where we go to lunch today." She stated while they walked off.

"Oh come on Carrots, I thought you liked the Asian place we went to yesterday." Nick remarked.

"I would have if you hadn't ordered spicy food while I was in the bathroom!" Judy replied.

Bellwether walked up the steps and into the police station where she saw a chubby cheetah indulging himself in a donut while browsing his phone. Bellwether cleared her throat, causing the cheetah to divert his attention away from the phone.

"Oh, hello, what can I help you with today?" He asked.

"Uh, hi, I was wondering if I could look through the archives for the plague doctors." Bellwether requested.

"If you're looking for doctors from the 1800's you may want to try the library." Clawhauser suggested.

"No, the heists group the plague doctors." Bellwether specified. "Nick told me you had some archives on them."  
"Oh, those plague doctors." Clawhauser responded. "Well, I guess f nick allows it, I can let you browse the archives for a few moments, but I can't let you take anything home." He informed.

"That won't be a problem." Bellwether replied. "I just need to browse."

Clawhauser brought Bellwether to a back room that had seemingly looked abandoned since dust flew across the room as the door was opened.

"You should be able to find the archives for them in the p's." Clawhauser explained.

"Thanks." Bellwether replied.

Searching the various folders and papers, Bellwether eventually found a few folders pertaining to Aiden's group. Placing the archives on a nearby desk, Bellwether searched through several reports, case files, and records pertaining to the groups actions. Bellwether didn't find anything useful, just stories about what the group had done. As Bellwether was about to wrap up her investigation, she noticed a list at the bottom of the papers. Brushing a few pages away, the list had several names written down.

Possibilities.

The list named several people Bellwether had never heard of before, but none of them were listed as Aiden or Christy. Bellwether flipped the list over and read a few more names on the back, but something was odd about the back of the page. A name had been scribbled out in red pen.

Looking back through the pages, Bellwether couldn't find anything else about this name in the case files. Something told her that there was more underneath the Plague doctors than she had originally thought. Placing the files back in the folder, Bellwether returned them to their original place and left the archives.

Bellwether decided she had enough of walking around Zootopia today and just decided to head home. Something in the back of her head was bugging her, why would the archives have a name crossed out from a list of possibilities. Aiden had told Bellwether about a mole in their group, but he had never told her what happened to that mole.

Bellwether had questions, and she knew only one dog who could answer them for her.

 _To be continued…_


	4. A moment with the cops

Judy and Nick sat around the corner of the street watching for any nearby speeders. Judy was holding a speed tracker, ready to aim it at any cars to check for anyone going over the limit.

"You've been awfully quiet." Judy noted as she continued to stare out into the street. "Usually at this point you're striking conversation."

Nick tapped his finger against the cup he was holding. "Just having some thoughts at the moment." Nick replied.

"Like what?" Judy asked.

Nick thought for a moment before proceeding to respond. "Did anything about that sheep strike you as 'off' in any way?"

"I don't follow." Judy responded, looking at Nick.

"You're telling me you didn't think anything about that sheep was… familiar?" Nick pressed.

"Nick, if you have something you're trying to say, say it." Judy urged, taking her attention off the road.

"See, that's just the thing, I don't have anything to say because I can't find what I'm trying to say. Something about that sheep earlier was familiar, yet it's not coming to me why." Nick conveyed. "It's in there somewhere but I can't seem to get at it."

"You don't think she was a criminal do you?" Judy asked.

"Maybe, I just think we've seen that sheep somewhere." Nick started to rub his forehead in some hope to remember.

Judy thought it over for a second; there was only one notable sheep she could think of. "You aren't talking about Bellwether are you?" She asked.

"Oh please carrots, we both know Bellwether is in the penitentiary, there isn't a chance she could be walking around Zootopia this soon." Nick refuted.

"You never know." Judy warned. Suddenly a thought came to her. "You don't think that sheep might have been a part of the Plague doctors do you?"

"What makes you think that?" Nick replied as he stopped rubbing his forehead.

"I know the newspaper hasn't really had any stories lately." Judy began. "But why would they suddenly have an interest in a group that disappeared years ago. It seems odd if you ask me."

Nick thought it over; he knew that none of the members were short, or at least not as short as the sheep that they encountered earlier. "If that is true, she must have been working as a side member. None of the Plague doctors were as short as her, but that doesn't disqualify the thought she might be working with them. I think we should go find her again."

"Nick, we can't just go running after a sheep if they haven't done anything yet. Besides, it's only a thought, if something does come up, then we have an excuse to find her." Judy advised.

Nick sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. In that case, I'm going to try and relax." He stated, reclining the seat as far back as he could. "Notify me if something interesting happens."

Judy smirked. "Alright, just don't yell at me if the car suddenly takes off and you end up on the back window." She joked.

For a moment the two sat in silence as Judy kept an eye on the street.

"How do you think bellwether is doing?" Judy asked.

Nick was quiet for a moment. "Don't tell me you're starting to grow empathy for her."

"I know what bellwether did was wrong, but I don't think that's any reason to treat her like she's without emotions." Judy responded.

"Earth to carrots, she tried to kill us." Nick reminded. "Are you seriously telling me that you are going to try and feel sorry for the sheep that tried to not only take over Zootopia and segregate it, but also kill us in the process?"

"Well, it was more like she only tried to kill me, but put you in an asylum." Judy corrected. Nick shot her a look. "But I guess I see what you're saying. I guess just all this talk of sheep just reminded me of her."

"Frankly, I would like to forget the entire thing ever happened." Nick commented.

"Don't forget that it was because of that ordeal that you and I became teammates." Judy stated.

"True, I guess one thing did come out of this." Nick smirked.

"Well, wherever Bellwether is, I just hope she isn't planning to get revenge on Zootopia." Judy thought aloud.

"Wishful thinking, carrots, wishful thinking."

 _To be continued…_


End file.
